10 Reasons You Should Hire Someone with a Disability
1) Rely on a very dependable work force.
Employees with disabilities are some of the most reliable workers a business can hire with exceptional records of attendance, job performance, and retention. According to a 1990 study by Dupont, employees with disabilities equal or exceed their counterparts with no disabilities in the areas of job performance, attendance, and commitment to safety. In the study, 90% of all employees with disabilities rated average or better in job performance. A 1993 report in the Journal of Rehabilitation revealed that employees with disabilities also report higher satisfaction with their jobs, which leads to greater retention for the company and lowers the costs associated with replacing workers.
2) Pay cost effective wages.
The real cost of hiring a worker in today’s economy is high when benefits and insurance are brought into the equation. Companies that work with employment agencies like Achieve Services, Inc. save money by only having to worry about the wages of their contracted workers. Benefits and insurance are usually covered by Achieve or government aid that goes to the individual. This greatly reduces a company’s overhead and allows a fair wage for the participants.
3) Reduce hiring and training costs.
When hiring a new worker there are often administrative costs along with several weeks of training required. If you work with Achieve, we make it easy by handling all of that for you. We have a staff of well-qualified job coaches that will supervise and instruct workers so that your employees do not have to sacrifice time and energy. Some of our participants will have a job coach with them at all times and others will work independently after being trained in by an Achieve coach. Also, with the increased retention rate mentioned in #1 above, there are fewer costs associated with replacing workers.
4) Manage time effectively.
Workers with disabilities complete specific job tasks, freeing up other workers to focus on more skilled tasks. For instance, a company could save time and money by hiring an Achieve participant to shred important documents or clean the grounds instead of contracting the work out to an expensive private company or having another employee do it whose job description suggests they should be focusing on something else.
5) Receive tax incentives.
There are several tax incentives designed to encourage companies to hire employees with disabilities. Some of these credits are intended to offset costs of any accommodations that are made and others are simply to encourage an employer to diversify their workforce. These include the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, the ADA Small Business Tax Credit, the Disabled Access Credit, and the Architectural/Transportation Tax Deduction. Click on any of the previous links to learn more about each credit and learn how your business can apply.
6) Improve your public perception.
According to a survey by the University of Massachusetts, 92% of Americans look more favorably on businesses that hire people with disabilities than those that do not and 87% said they would prefer to give their business to companies that hire people with disabilities. This would indicate that it is not only good business to hire a capable workforce of disabled individuals, but also to send the message that you support all workers and are an inclusive business.
7) Increase your customer base.
Not only will you garner the favor of the general public by hiring workers with disabilities, but you gain the support of the ever growing disability community. Positively Minnesota reports that 52 million Americans currently have a disability representing a market of consumers with over $1.5 trillion in discretionary spending. This massive group prefers to patronize businesses that understand their needs and hiring people with disabilities signals that your company does.
8) Boost the morale at your entire work place.
According to an Australian business survey, employees that feel their company is more committed to diversity are generally more satisfied with their jobs. Hiring people with disabilities is a great way for a company to show that they are dedicated to promoting diversity within the organization. Many Achieve business partners report that the positive attitude that employees with disabilities bring to work influences and motivates other employees.
9) Expand innovation.
People with disabilities have inspired great technological change with innovations that include closed captioning, voice activation, and spell check. People with disabilities bring a unique perspective and may encourage companies to see things from their view. This could help companies approach their customers in a new way and lead to new innovations that are inclusive of the maximum number of consumers.
10) Join the crowd!
More than ever companies are seeing the benefits and hiring people with disabilities. Achieve’s list of current business partners continues to grow with more local businesses interested in tapping into our skilled and diverse work force. Will you be next?